


Smokescreen & Waterfalls

by jutsuzuban, Kriber



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Dad Ronin, F/F, Fluff, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Kai and Nya raised by Ronin into thieves, Multi, Other, Rony@ and Rok@i shippers can fuck off, Tags Will Update as Time Goes On, chapters will get longer too as time goes on, hopefully
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-18 13:16:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21711376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jutsuzuban/pseuds/jutsuzuban, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kriber/pseuds/Kriber
Summary: Ronin couldn't pass up the opportunity to rob an old place. The shop's just sitting there with unlocked doors and open windows.He...didn't really expect to find some kids. And adopt them.
Relationships: Kai & Ronin (Ninjago), Nya & Ronin (Ninjago)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 45





	Smokescreen & Waterfalls

**Author's Note:**

> Real self-indulgent, but ey! Written with a pal!
> 
> Read the tags, please! This fic is found family w Ronin and the sibs, not ship, so nasties can walk away now :)

_ “Did you hear about the blacksmith shop?” _

_ “Ray and Maya’s? Yea, I heard they abandoned it!” _

_ “No!” _

_ What dumb town gossip...Well, I guess there must be some truth to it. _ A masked man walked past a group of whispering women, grinning to himself under his scarf. 

He traversed the village, searching for anything to steal, or anything interesting at all and of value, but in a small farming village like this, he knew that the most valuable thing would've been Grandma's old knitted socks. Eventually, the man found a small store on the outskirts of the village. An anvil flag waved outside it, ripped in half and held in place with a sword. 

_ This must be the blacksmith’s shop, _ the man realized. It sure  _ seemed _ abandoned, with creaking doors and an oddly grim atmosphere around it. The owners must have left in a hurry, as equipment, tools, and other belongings were strewn about everywhere on the dirt path leading toward the shop.

Suddenly, a noise caught his attention. A small voice, angrily cursing (not an actual curse though, the voice sounded much too young to know such words) and hitting the walls. Something hit the ground hard, like a hammer onto dirt. The man frowned and edged closer to the source.

Peering into the abandoned shop, he saw two small children. One was stomping angrily while a box of matches lay sadly on the floor. A bandage wrapped around one of their eyes, and tiny hands were balled into fists. The other child, who looked even younger than the first one (she couldn’t have been older than 3), poked a collection of sticks and other pieces of wood with her fingers, frowning. Both looked worn and tired, dirt caking their bodies and clothes. 

The man frowned. What were these children doing here? They were so young and the older one seemed… frustrated. Were they trying to start a fire? Because if that were the case, it would explain it. But what reason could they have-

He was blown out of his thoughts when something snapped underneath him. A twig, he realized too late, had been broken underfoot. What a rookie mistake. The noise attracted the attention of the kids, who looked over to where he was. Sighing, the man stepped out into plain view, hands tucked away behind him. The older kid grabbed a sword and held it out defensively. 

“D-don’t make me use this on you!” They stammered out. “My- my dad was an expert swordsman a-and I know all his tricks!”

The man was caught off guard for a moment, then easily regained his composure and held his hands up amicably. 

“Hey, hey, relax squirt, I’m not gonna hurt ya,” he reassured. The kid’s grip didn’t ease, and the younger child hid behind her sibling, fearful of the stranger in their home.

The older kid’s unbandaged eye narrowed as they scrutinized the stranger. “How do we know for sure y-you won’t?”

“Because,” the man began, as he sauntered over to the pile of wood. The kid’s knees shook in anxiety as he approached. He picked up the abandoned matches and, at first frowning at the soaked quality they had, found a mostly dry one and lit it up. He tossed it into the sticks and they exploded into a small flame. Sounds of awe echoed behind him and the kids rushed past him to warm themselves. 

“Thanks so much, mister!” The younger kid said happily. The older one nodded, sword all but left behind. 

“Please, kid,” the man smirked, “call me Ronin.” He ruffled the messy brown hair of the older kid, who smacked his hand away. 

_ These two must be the kids of the shop owners, _ Ronin deduced. _ They don’t have any home, or anywhere to go to… _

“Ya know,” he began, “you don’t have to live like this all the time.”  _ What are you doing, you old coot? Don’t be getting soft now! _   
  
The older kid raised their head up, confused. “What do you mean? This is Mommy and Daddy’s store, we have to protect it!”

“That may be so,” Ronin continued, “but without me, you two would have frozen into tiny little popsicles.” At this, the kids flinched and edged closer to the fire. “What I’m saying is,” he held his hand out to the brunette. “You two can come with me. I can give you food, water, anything else people need to live with, et cetera.”  _ Not by legal means, but with means.  _

The younger one blinked, then smiled widely as if she was given a large Christmas present. She rushed up and hugged Ronin’s leg. “Thank you Mr. Ronin!” 

“Nya!” The older scolded. Turning to Ronin again, they cocked their head. “How do we know you  _ can _ do that for us?”

“It’d be easier to do together,” the man reasoned. “Is it really much worse to give it a shot than to live in this sh- dump?”  _ I’ll just take them and use them to get more things. _

The older kid’s eye darted around, then focused on Nya, tongue sticking out deep in thought. Ronin stuck his hand out once more. 

  
“What’ll it be, kiddo?”

After a few moments, a small hand grasped his much larger one. “I- We accept,” their voice trembled. They rushed in and hugged Ronin’s torso, who at this point had to stabilize himself with his hand on the wall to not fall over. Even so, he ruffled both kids’ hair, with Nya giggling at the touch. 

“Thanks,” the older kid muttered into his shirt. “I’m Kai by the way.”

  
Ronin’s smirk turned into a warm smile, which the man quickly wiped off. “Yea, no problem shrimp. It’s nice to meet ya.”  _ Ain’t no way in hell I’ll be going soft.  _


End file.
